Announcing the judges for 2014

This year we are delighted to have Mark Dollase, Jeffrey Taber, and Yael Ksander as our judges.

Mark Dollase is the Vice President of Preservation Services at the Indiana Landmarks Foundation, the largest statewide nonprofit preservation organization in the country. He was promoted to this position, in which he is responsible for Indiana Landmarks’ eight regional offices, in 2005 after serving as director of several regional offices.

Mark received his B.A. from the University of Nebraska and came to Indiana to attend Ball State University’s College of Architecture, where he completed graduate coursework towards a Master’s degree in historic preservation. His projects have included the rescue of the West Baden Springs Hotel, completion of the Fall Creek Place real estate development in Indianapolis, and restoration of the 1910 Glossbrenner Mansion. He also founded Indiana Modern, a group which focuses on preserving the state’s mid-century modern architecture and design.

Mark serves on numerous boards of community-based organizations. He was appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in 2006 to serve on the Indiana Main Street Council, to which which he has been reappointed twice. He is on the board of the Rivoli Center for the Performing Arts, where he champions the restoration of the 1927 theater in Indianapolis, and is past president of the Greater Allisonville Community Council, a coalition of 22 neighborhoods in northeast Indianapolis, where he resides.

Photo credit: hoosierhistorylive.org

Chef Jeffrey Taber chairs the Hospitality Program at Ivy Tech Bloomington. Formally trained at the prestigious Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, Taber previously taught at the Art Institute of Ohio and owned his own bakery from 2007-2009. Taber is a familiar face to readers of Bloomington’s Herald-Times, which publishes Taber’s series of weekly cooking videos.

Photo credit: Ivy Tech College Bloomington News, HeraldTimesOnline.com 2012 http://ivytechbloomington.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/video-how-to-make-chicken-stock/

Yael Ksander hosts music and talk programs on Bloomington’s NPR affiliate, WFIU, where she has worked since 2000. She produces features on artists, writers, and other creative people for WFIU’s Artworks series, writes for A Moment of Indiana History, and co-hosts A Moment of Science,  which reaches a national audience.  Ksander is one of the principal organizers and MC of Bloomington’s annual Trashion Refashion show, a benefit for the Center for Sustainable Living, a 501c3 environmental organization that works to promote sustainable living in the Bloomington community, and Discardia, a retail store that sells items made from recycled materials by local craftspeople. Ksander holds a MFA in painting from Indiana University, an MA in art history from Columbia University, and a BA  from the University of Virginia, where she studied languages and literature.   

Photo credit: Rich Remsberg

A few photos from the 2012 contest

Cheryl Munson cuts into a breathtaking model of the Paris Dunning House, named for Indiana’s ninth governor, Paris Dunning. Dunning was the only person ever to hold every elected seat in state government under the 1816 constitution.

And the winner is…

The 2012 Architectural Cake Contest champion was  Edwardo Rhodes.

Edwardo’s cake was a magnificent representation of Indiana University’s Bryan House.

There was a little tension when Mistress of Ceremonies Cheryl Munson cut into the roof and found an empty attic with a floor that resisted her knife’s edge. Had this baker used plywood? Would he be disqualified for using a material edible only by rats and bacteria? To our great relief, we discovered that the key to this house’s hyper-erect standing was gum paste, a substance previously unknown to most of us.

Congratulations, Dr. Rhodes, on a fabulous creation!